A Comprehensive Web Education
We are definitely living through interesting times, some would describe them as unprecedented times, people are unemployed in every town, businesses are failing due to draconian measures being imposed by seemingly reckless local authorities who are hell bent on making you helpless and fearful; regardless of your politics, or your beliefs it is clear that our society is becoming increasingly hostile and uncertain.
Some industries are doing very well through all of this, but one in particular is booming like never before!
Our society, whether you like it or not is increasingly based on information technology, the World Wide Web is a global communication medium and eCommerce is experiencing a major stimulus from the mass demand for online shopping, education is being delivered via the internet, and many service industries also are delivered via the web.
If you can translate what you do into a form the web can present, or you can provide some type of service which people can use via the web you will stand a much better chance at making your living without needing to depend on government welfare, and the compulsions this might very well involve in the near future.
There are many potential options open to you if you can acquire a range of skills, if you can develop specialised types of literacy; no this does not mean you have become a coder, or learn an advanced programming language! There is plenty you can do on the web if you are reasonably good with a computer, and you have an aptitude for learning technical details, and you can follow instructions and apply what you learn.
One of the most valuable sources of general web education can be found in the WordPress community.
I know that a lot of people are confused when I say this, they start thinking about ‘Blogging, and social media, I am talking about the software framework version of WordPress, if you take a look on the Showcase tab of the home site you can find a lot of very sophisticated and high profile businesses, institutions, names such as: Walt Disney, Bloomberg, RollingStone Magazine, Vogue Magazine, The San Francisco Chronicle and really hundreds of examples who have chosen WordPress as the foundation of their online presence, when they could select anything like liked, money is no object!
So, why do these very well known entities choose WordPress, when they could have teams of ‘full stack’ developers making their web pages?
The simple answer can be found in the way the World Wide Web works, and the efficiencies to be gained from a framework that offers developers a true ‘head start’ in the game.
If you use WordPress you already have a solid, fully optimised foundation for your web application. When you start you have already shaved weeks off your production time, and you have a flexible, agile environment in which you can shape your design intentions, and the whole thing is already to engage with Google search technology, Rankbrain; of course these examples are not the result of purchasing ready-made themes, like so many beginners tend to do, there are developers able to shape the WordPress into whatever it needs to be using the native PHP and other coding.
But, the good news is, you can gain similar results, professional standard results as if you were a seasoned developer, and the learning curve is substantially reduced. With a little acumen and an aptitude for positioning elements, editing sections, and choosing good content graphics, plus a decent skill with writing you too can reinvent yourself as a ‘Web Person’, a developer, builder, designer, technical consultant if you grasp the opportunity of learning how to use WordPress with a page builder.
Page builders are fairly newcomers into the WordPress biosphere, they have been around for a while, but only in the past 2-3 years have seriously good ones become available, which are within the reach of people who possess reasonable technical skills. You can learn the basics, and beyond without attending fancy colleges, or accumulating huge student debt.
I know there are lots of hyperbolic, and Snake Oil salesmen making noise about ‘web skills’; but this is something that is within reach that does not require you to buy my course, or go to my links!
To embark on learning practical, useful skills you need to be open to learning from videos, but this is the case with most education these days; even high school kids are being taught from home via video links, and ‘Zoom’ sessions, or something of this type!
The information and training for getting started with WordPress can be found for the cost of your internet access.
To begin with, you can go to the WordPress home site, and gain a lot of help.
Now, I know what you are thinking, you have heard this before! You have seen those bloggers presenting their affiliate links, and telling you just ‘how easy it is’ to get started with their course. I am actually not selling you a course, I am providing an insight, and letting you know just what is available for you if you are looking for a way to to begin learning about the WWW, I am speaking to intelligent, imaginative people here, not complete technophobes; you will need a base-level of technical aptitude, and some motivation, because self directed learning is actually not easy.
Regardless of what people might say, you have to possess a good measure of self discipline, and vision to set out on a new course of discovery.
There is a legion of free information, and training if you look for it on this very subject.
Some people just don’t understand what a valuable education resource YouTube can be, if you are looking for a credible beginning a search on YouTube can give you the start you need.
When you begin with WordPress you learn how to purchase a domain name, you learn how to manage websites and build using cPanel, you discover how TCP/IP works, you encounter ‘plugins’ which are pieces of software you install on your WordPress admin project to implement different functions and services. Page Builders are plugins that generate a CSS environment (you will learn what CSS is!) over your native WordPress pages; the page builder allows you to design each page to order, it is up to you what this looks like and what your project will be about.
A Page Builder I can recommend is Elementor, this can be obtained free of charge to begin with, and when you have gained a certain level of ease with it, you can purchase the ‘Pro’ version which has more bells & whistles, it gives you a bigger range of possibilities; the free version of fine though.
I look about me, and I see many people who could benefit from this ‘web education’, probably too many who feel they would not be technically good enough, these are precisely the people I am talking with.
As I said, it helps if you already feel comfortable with technology, you have a reasonable grasp of the internet, and you can write, and upload graphics, and edit on a basic level.
Every single aspect of the internet/web is learned with WordPress, and yes it is superior to Wix, or any of those platforms, which is why people like Walt Disney choose it.
Elementor Pro, combined with WordPress offers you a genuine option, a learning curve which can rescue you from being trapped. The WWW is not going to disappear anytime soon (famous last words?) the industry is literally booming, the more practical skills you have, the better you will survive, plus you can build on your web education and move into different areas; WordPress offers us a comprehensive learning path which is more relevant and useful than much of the tertiary education on offer today. This is just a plain fact.
If you are interested with this, feel free to contact me from this site, I can point you to some valuable resources.
For example, if you are interested with ‘Journalism’ and presenting social, political, scientific, religious & spiritual topics, if you are skilled in a specific area, perhaps you are a Mechanic, or a Bricklayer, or a Plumber, a Teacher…any significant category of skill, you can present your own spin on these subjects, offer education and insights, build your reputation and name by publishing on the web, using WordPress.
We have all heard of Podcasts, we can produce our own podcasts, publish this to our own domain-based media platform. You will notice I am not calling this ‘Blogging’, because this word has become meaningless!
We need to think beyond these limiting ideas, Blogging has become such a familiar term that people no longer understand what is meant.
Publishing is the real name for it.
I have another project that is dedicated to helping people interested with Journalism, and building their independent projects: iWriteBox.com
We are encouraged to regard the WWW and social media in very trivial, dumbed down terms, but these resources can be harnessed to help real, everyday people get ahead, we can side-step expensive education and gain a practical, useful and very valuable education on many different subjects.
We find that ‘traditional educators’ often sneer, and scoff about online learning, but the reality is that the quality of education you can derive by studying something like WordPress offers you the means to liberate yourself, and move out of the prison of conventional thinking.
I believe I have given you something to think about, the WWW and the internet are NOT just about crass, commercial content and baseline selling, we can gain highly valuable skills and useful insights.